Cinema Society

THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY

Average
Rating

4

Tuesday, December 17, 2013, ArcLight La Jolla

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 17

On Screen: 4:00pm or 7:30pm (You Pick!)

ArcLight La Jolla (Auditoriums 4 & 5)

Cinema Chat and Introduction begins 15 minutes prior to screenings

Discussion follows screenings

THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY

Walter Mitty (Ben Stiller) is a dutiful son, a loyal friend, and a man who takes pride in his work as the photo editor of Life Magazine. He is also a compulsive fantasist who gets lost in heroic scenarios in which he saves the life of the co-worker he adores (Kristen Wiig) but who he can barely manage to speak to in reality. When the publication is bought out and a team of corporate hacks elects to go all digital, a legendary photographer (Sean Penn) entrusts Walter with the negative of an image he considers to be perfect for the final cover… that he loses. Walter embarks on a worldwide search for the photographer, which becomes a journey of self-discovery and a recovery of his buried dreams. From James Thurber’s extremely short 1939 story, Ben Stiller has created a sweet, globe-trotting comic fable with an up-to-the-minute everyman. With Shirley MacLaine in a lovely performance as Walter’s mother. A 20th Century Fox release, it opens commercially in San Diego on December 25th.

Rated PG for some crude comments, language and action violence Running Time: 114 Minutes.

PLEASE NOTE: For this presentation, we are starting the first show 30 minutes earlier than normal—4:00pm on screen (3:45pm introduction).

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6-Jan-14: SiouxMac - Rating: 4

I missed this movie the week that it was shown for us, but I ended up seeing it twice over the holidays. I really enjoyed it. I think it helps that I am a fan of both Ben Stiller and Kristen Wiig, but beyond that, I enjoyed a movie about flawed but likeable characters. I especially liked seeing the transition of Walter from a man whose life is dull and unsatisfying to a man who finally takes some control and lives a life that exceeds even his own imagination.

19-Dec-13: Mroe - Rating: 5

My first “5” of the season! I LOVED this movie and can’t wait to watch it again. I was at first confused and perturbed upon hearing the grumblings of those that didn’t share my same enthusiasm for the movie and I realized this isn’t a “everybody” movie, I think it’s for those with a certain kind of imagination, a certain way of thinking about things. If you are pragmatic, see everything as black&white and are mainly fans of non-fiction this might not be the film for you.

There was a time, particularly back in the 40’s when movies were a little heavy on theme about “happily ever after”, “guy always get’s girl” and “dancing & singing” solves everything...these all were “escapist” type movies because of the war going on and it was a nice break from reality, well I find this movie to be in that category, a real trip for the imagination, to be allowed to be swept away for a couple hours and enjoy the adventure set forth on the screen and not give a care about what is going on in the real world.

18-Dec-13: Paul Laikind Ph. D. - Rating: 3

I enjoyed the movie, however, I would hesitate to recommend it to someone as a movie they make an effort to see. I thought that it lacked energy, perhaps purposefully. it was certainly visually pleasing, more of a travelogue and the characters, while not very well defined were generally easy to like (or dislike as appropriate). The description that jumps to mind is emotionally flat.

17-Dec-13: JF - Rating: 4

We almost skipped this one since it's garnered, to date, a 38% on Rotten Tomatoes (yikes), but we decided to give it a try, and are glad that we did.

This might not be a really sophisticated movie or a great work of art, but it had creativity and heart. It's nice to have characters that you care about and root for...unlike that self absorbed, condescending and pathetic Llewan.

Thanks for presenting this one Andy!